Signs of Struggle
by The Illusionist's Wings04
Summary: Itex is starting to get sloppy with keeping its experiments a secret, and people are starting to investigate the disappearances. FINALLY! Mean while, Max has been living the 'good life' until she gets a message from a new girl. Please read and review!
1. Prologue

I've had this ideal for a long time, and I've been planning it in my mind for a long time. I hope you guys like it!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does.**

"Is there any sign of a struggle?"

The wise woman glowered at the young officer. "Of course there was a struggle! Look at her," she said in exasperation. Officer Mal looked down at the body, and the woman felt her heart wrench as she followed his gaze. A girl as young as seven lay down on the desert ground, looking almost as though she were asleep. But she wasn't, the woman thought sadly. Years of experience had taught her that. It wasn't the blood covering the tiny body. No, it wasn't the blood. It was the instinct. The instinct to run from danger, but the motherly wanting to hold the girl close and cry her heart out. Of course, she'd seen bodies like this. It was a part of her job. But it hurt her to think about her own daughter, safe at home, being discarded like garbage on the side of the road. And once they identified the body, she would have to tell the heartbroken parents that their daughter was dead.

"Sorry," the new officer said, smiling impishly, holding his hands up in surrender. Despite the gut feeling of horror about what happened to the small child, the detective couldn't help but roll her eyes. Over the years she had observed different ways of dealing with stress. First there were the ones she called 'clams' who shut up at even the sign of blood. They annoyed her the most because they were always no help with getting the information she needed. Then there were the ones who started glaring at her like _she_ had killed the victim. They usually ended up getting fired in a few months for attacking an officer for saying one gruesome fact. Then were the ones like Mal here, who joked in the face of stress. In fact, they were usually the newest officers. Multiple times she couldn't help but send one of her death glares at the offending officer.

Sighing, she glanced back up at Mal and asked, "Why did they send you?"

He shrugged. "I was the only one they had available on duty. You know about the disappearings, don't you?"

Ana could only glance back down at the little girl's body. Yes, she knew about the disappearings. That was part of the reason she was considered getting a different job, a safer job. Maybe a secretary. Being a single mom, she couldn't leave her daughter alone. But she wanted to stay a few years longer. No matter how many bad days she had had, she couldn't leave her job. Maybe she was some adrenalin junky. She just couldn't leave it. Ignoring the officer's question, she asked learderly, "Turn over the body. It looks like most of the blood is coming from her back."

Without hesitating, which Ana couldn't help but find odd, Mal reached over a gloved hand, grabbed the girl's arm, and turned her over gently. The woman recoiled immediately, and gasped. Two lines were slashed roughly through the white tank top, and bursting through the holes were a pair of crushed _wings_. The primary feathers were covered in blood, so she couldn't tell what color they were. The secondary were a rich brown. The wings hung at an odd angle in multiple places, like they had been broken.

"Oh, my God," Ana breathed out. Her heart pounded hard against her chest, and air rushed in and out quickly through her lungs. She couldn't take her eyes of the bloody and mangled wings. "We have to call someone," she said quickly, reaching down for her radio.

_Khu-klunk!_

Ana heard the sound of a pistol being cocked. She put her radio down slowly and looked up. Standing there, grinning cockily, Mal had a gun pointed toward her temple. "We don't need to do that, do we?" he asked easily, as if he held innocent people at gunpoint everyday. He pulled a cell phone out, and hit a couple of keys before he slid it back into his pocket.

Her gaze didn't move from the gun, but she asked Mal, "Do you really want to do this?"

Mal looked flabbergasted. "Hon, I'm not going to kill you. I've got to hold up my image," he said, smiling charmingly for a murderer, which is what she could only assume he was with what he was doing now. "But I'm not sure about my friends. They do need some new subjects for their…experiments."

Their experiments? What did he mean by that? But then it clicked in Ana's mind. "You killed the girl. A poor, innocent girl!" she growled angrily.

"Hon, we didn't kill her. She just wasn't strong enough. Besides, it's all for the better. She wouldn't survive the new world anyway." All this time Ana had silently slid her hand toward her holster. But her movements didn't go unnoticed. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," the liar said smoothly, tightening his grip slightly on the trigger. "We wouldn't want an accident." Then he glanced behind her. "Looks like your ride's on its way."

Ana glared harshly at him, but let her hands fall at her sides. Turning around, she could hear an engine, and just about a mile away a chopper was coming toward them at an alarming speed. She turned back toward Mal. "My family will keep looking for me, you know. My husband won't give up."

Mal looked at her with what looked like sympathy. "We know you're not married, Hon." And then he smiled mischievously. "And you don't have to worry about your daughter. We'll keep her safe. For a bit."

Time seemed to freeze. The chopper above her head, and the noise hurt her ears. Long hair whipped around Ana's head as she tried to tackle the evil man in front of her. But two men dropped the impossible drop to the ground and restrained her. Ana kept fighting back, wanting to hurt the man who had just threatened her daughter's life. "You won't touch her," she screamed over the roaring wind, malice evident in her voice. "You hurt her and I'll kill you. You hear me. I'll-." Her voice was lost in the noise as the men dragged her toward a ladder, which started pulling the victim and her kidnappers up towards the chopper. The man on the ground, standing next to the girl's body, only stared as the chopper lifted off, and flew away.


	2. Chapter 1

"Max."

I groaned, turning into my pillow. "Go away."

"Max, I'll have to get the bucket," a voice taunted from the doorway.

"You wouldn't dare," I growled, glaring at the intruder with sleep filled eyes.

"It's Friday, and Mom said she would let you drive," Ella informed me from the doorway, looking preppy in some skirt and leggings, with a matching pink jacket. Not that I cared.

I jumped up slightly at that. Yes, now that Jeb had insisted on the flock living as normal kids, I had finally got my TEMPS. After all, I was fifteen. I completely sucked at driving, but I was getting better at it. Sure, I almost ran into a fire hydrant, but it just needed a little touch up. Not anything huge. Maybe Ella and Nudge could give it a makeover. I'd rather it be the victim than me. Ever since we had moved into my mom's house, I had turned into Ella's Barbie doll, much to Iggy and-.

I paused on that thought and treaded back slowly like it was a dangerous bear. Finding it easier to never think of _him_, I just tended to act like there wasn't a hole in my heart. Thinking back on it, I wouldn't have even minded if we had just broken up. Anything to keep my best friend at my side. It was hard enough with the stress of saving the world, but if I had him at my side, it would be easier. But, whatever. As Ella says, he's a complete idiot for leaving the flock and me.

"Can I do your wardrobe?" Ella squealed, rushing into my room before I could say anything. Who says _wardrobe_? "Nudge, Max's letting us pick out her clothes!"

I glared at Ella. She was already studying me! Probably for the best shade of color that would show off my tan, which I apparently have. "Out," I demanded, pushing her towards the door. She struggled, trying to get out of my grasp, but by the time she got out I had clicked the lock on my door shut. Luckily, Mom had told me I could get lock, but, of course, she had to pass through a couple weeks of screaming teenagers first.

Sighing, I trudged through my room to the closet which unfortunately was filled with a bunch of pink, short, frilly things at the shopaholics' expense. After checking a few outfits out, I finally found something suitable that I could fight in at any sight of alarm. Some nice, simple dark skinny jeans with a T-shirt and hoodie. Yes, it's not the most stylish thing in the world, but with evil scientists don't exactly teach us to be fashion models. They teach us to be fighters.

I listened at the door silently, trying to pick up any sound from Ella and Nudge, or, scarier, Angel. Just a little mind trick of hers could get me in a mini skirt faster than you can say 'torture'. Not hearing anything, I opened the door and walked down the short hallway to the bathroom.

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"Hey, Iggy," I said tiredly, plopping down at the counter. Seconds later, a plate of pancakes, eggs, and bacon appeared in front of me. It took a few minutes of shoveling the delicious food in my in mouth before I finally looked up to see the chef. "So," I asked while gnawing on a piece of bacon, "are you still going to that concert with John?"

"Nah." Iggy walked the 7 feet to the stove perfectly, without even running it, and I shook my head in disbelief. What on earth did the lunatics (scientists, for those who don't know our story) give to him? Echolocation? Radioactive spider? I'm stumped. "Loud noises and packed crowds almost promise a panic attack," he said sadly. I guess he really wanted to go. After a week of arguing, the flock was forced to go to Ella's school, and Ig had met John. In a matter of days, the two troublemakers, occasionally plus Gazzy, spent half of their time in the principal's office, and the other planning their schemes. Of course, I've had my fair share of detention. First it was that boy who made fun of Iggy's eyesight, than it was tackling Iggy for him saying he could defend himself, than a day later is was for punching that girl, and than… You get the idea, right?

I glanced up at the clock. "I should go wake up Gazzy, we don't have much time before I get to drive us to school!" Ignoring Iggy's protest, I clambered up out of my seat, grabbed a cup of water, and marched upstairs.

**So, I'll try to make the rest of the chapters longer, and I know Max probably seems more teenager style right now, but I'm figuring living the easy life for a while can do that to you. I have some ideas for this story, but if you want to actually understand it, you'll want to pay a lot of attention to the chapters titles so you understand when I switch points of view. PLEASE REVIEW! Constructive criticism is welcome, and same with complements!**


	3. Chapter 2

** At first, I meant for this to be a dream of Fang's, and it was going to be in a huge field, but I decided against it. Hope you like this chapter!**

"You said she would be here," I told Rachel tensely, looking across the dusty red canyon. The sunset stood up hard against the sky in a twist of bright colors. It was all too beautiful, too peaceful, for what had been foretold about this place.

Rachel looked across the hole in the earth desperately, searching for any sign of human life in the empty cave. Her fiery red hair blew across an expression full of doubt, and I felt a pang of guilt for doubting her ability. I knew it was wrong to get frustrated over this sort of thing. Her power was puzzle-like. For all she knew, we just got the time wrong. Besides, did I really wish for Max's death?

"I don't know," whispered Rachel. She looked up at me, but ended up quickly looking away, seeing through my blank façade to the storm underneath. "I-I'm sorry, I was sure that-."

Yeah, I know." I understood. It just hurt, too be so close, yet so far, from Max. It was the right decision to leave the flock, the Voice had told me. But I still questioned it, in hopes of finding some flaw in the story that would allow me to go back. Why couldn't I just check in to make sure that Max was still safe? The Voice had said she needed to survive, and yet Rachel's vision had told us otherwise. God, why did this have to be so freakin' confusing! I turned around blindly, punching a wall in red hot anger. Rachel just stepped back slightly, observing me silently. She was used to this sort of thing happening whenever our little missions failed, or came out with a cryptic answer that I didn't want to answer, in fear of coming up with something I didn't want to hear.

After a few punches, I stepped away from the cave wall, still feeling confusion and annoyance circling me like vultures. My knuckles were scraped badly, and the blood was starting to well up. Rachel stepped forward to clean the wound, but I just turned my back to her and walked into the cave opening. Hawks' cries bounced off the walls as I walked farther back on the dusty floor. To make this anymore dramatic, I would tell you tumbleweed passed by me, but this wasn't stand-off with someone else. Far off.

I put my hand against the wall, feeling for the grooves of the letters carved there just a few months before. Suddenly, I felt the bumpiness and I removed my hand to see the writing in its place. I stood back and stared, feeling Rachel walk up beside me. Just after me raising from the grave, not literally, of course, I mean when Max gave me that shot of adrenaline, and we found out that Dylan wasn't going to die on us after he tried to kill himself, we had decided to take a short vacation as the old flock to the hawks' cave. We made sure Dylan was busy with Jeb, so it could just be like old times with six kids and their winged dog.

Those times seemed so long ago. Max had even let Nudge and Angel use her as a Barbie doll for the occasion with a strict set of rules, and she had looked beautiful. Not that she wasn't always, but just sitting on the cliff's edge, she looked so carefree, and that was a gift itself to me. And the whole flock was having a great time, playing tag in the air, and having an awesome picnic on the floor. Iggy and Gazzy had even set off a few fireworks.

It had been Nudge's idea. I can't help but remember she had looked so serious about it. Maybe it was her idea of a message to the world. We all knew by then that Max's mission to save the world was getting more and more real every day, and I guess thought everyone thought it would be a cool idea to leave something here, as a symbol, in case some of us… didn't make it. All of us had carved our names into the stone wall of the cave with Iggy's pocket knife, and when that got too dull, mine. At the bottom, Angel had drawn a set of wings spreading all the way out. It was simple, and yet I think all of us would have that moment imprinted in our minds for the rest of our life.

A tear slipped down my cheek, and I wiped it away, hoping Rachel hadn't noticed. But, unfortunately, she had. She glanced up at my face, worry creasing her eyebrows. She gazed at the cave wall, reading the names. "That's them, isn't it?" I nodded my head mutely, not wanting to show any more sign of emotion today. "You'll see them again," she told me hopefully. When I didn't reply, she grabbed my shoulder which caused me to stiffen, and pulled my body around to face her. "You will," she said more forcefully, her green eyes twinkling stubbornly up at me, and I couldn't help smile slightly. She smiled back at me. "Besides, either way, both paths will lead us to meet. You don't have to worry for now about their safety for now. I mean, they were all conscious in my vision." At that, I frowned slightly. They were all _barely_ conscious in one of the visions, but I decided to leave that part out for Rachel's sake. "Come on," she told me, "we still have to run by the School in Wisconsin."

"All right." I let her pull me outside into the darkening sky. She let go of her arm, and skipped toward the edge of the cliff. She momentarily looked down the steep, long drop to the bottom of the canyon, before she waved back at me and jumped off the cliff.

Ok, I know this may look really bad from your perspective. The girl just leaped off an 800 foot drop! But just wait a minute; it'll all be good in a second. And just as I said, Rachel rose above me, a pair of cherry red wings lifting her. She called out something to me that I couldn't hear, and banked down toward the setting sun. I straightened up and relaxed my shoulders, letting my midnight block wings expand to catch the wind. Stepping off the cliff, I flew off to join her.


	4. Chapter 3

**Hey peeps! I'm finding it harder to write, now that I know what the real threat in James Patterson's series. Yes, people, I am done reading the antics of a ***SPOILER ALERT FOR ANGEL*** questionable Angel, stressed and/no and crazed teenager Max, un-Fanglike Fang, bomb crazed Gazzy, so far a very quiet Voice, some confused flock members, newly named girl Maya, and quite a few lunatics trying to wipe out the earth's population. Lovely, isn't it? That's what every kid wants for Christmas! ***END SPOILER ALERT*** I love Angel: a Maximum Ride Novel!**

"What if I don't want to?" I growled, crawling farther back into the dog cage. It hurt with being so cramped in the small, enclosed space for so long, and it didn't help backing up because of the Eraser growling down my neck.

The scientist smiled cruelly, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of a struggle. His fingers twitched eagerly on the plunger of a vial filled with an odd green liquid. "We'll just have to have my friend help out," he suggested. "Or, we can just do this nice and easy, and you can hand me your arm." But after being here so long, I knew that was just written in a script. Either way, I wouldn't go back in this cage without cuts and bruises and maybe a concussion.

I glanced back at the Eraser, seeing the slimy saliva drip out of his mouth and the coarse fur covering him patches. My eyebrows rose innocently. "We'll you're an ugly fellow, aren't you?" I observed, smirking. The mutant, who, for the record, had it coming for him, growled angrily, kicked the cage holding me hard, sending me skidding across the floor for a couple feet. I slammed into the metal hard, and a couple loose wires poked me hard, but I held back a cry. This was all a part of the plan, and I would just have to deal with it for a bit longer.

"That's the worst you can do," I taunted, looking through the bars of the cage. The Eraser snarled, and started coming towards me. He grabbed the top of the cage, and even though the scientist desperately tried to restrain him, in seconds I was breaking through the only source of light in this depressing, dark, evil lab. The window.

I hadn't seen the sky in so long. Night stretched across the vast sky, stars twinkling. I gasped in the fresh air, feeling drunk on adrenaline. Behind me, I could hear the scientist yelling out warning. Red lights were flashing. Realizing I was still hurtling toward the earth, I pushed out as hard as I could on the walls of my small cell. Getting free, I landed agilely from the three floor drop and took to the shadows. I found the one section of fence that wasn't thrumming with electricity, and climbed over as fast as a squirrel. Of course, that may be because I'm 2% squirrel. And leave the jokes behind, because no, I'm not nutty for nuts.

But when I got to the top of the fence, I couldn't help wonder why this was turning out so easy. That was before the gun shot, and a sudden pain in both legs. The last thing I remember is the impact of falling and a voice whispering "Did you really think you get away from us so quickly?" No, of course not. After all, I was a child of the missing.

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"Were you trying to kill us?" Nudge asked breathlessly; her eyes were wide with terror as she fell gratefully out of the car. The rest of the flock followed, backing slowly away like I was about to throw them in.

I shrugged; unfazed, I picked myself out of the sort of twist I landed in when I screeched the car into a parking spot. "Maybe," I joked, "at least it would have been quieter around here." The flock glared at me. Is there no more sense of humor?

"How does Mom trust you with the car?" Ella said, rolling her eyes. I just turned toward the school. Seriously, none of what just happened was my fault. The old lady was going at a snail crawl, and what was I supposed to do? Wait for her? Besides nobody got hurt, so why did everyone have to freak out about it?

"Maybe it's because I'm older," I called behind me, jogging up to the doors so I wouldn't be late. My hand fell on the burning hot metal of the door handle as it sat in the Arizona sun, and I glanced back at the flock, plus Ella. "Nudge, no-."

Gazzy held up a hand. "Let me do the honors." Mimicking my voice perfectly, he turned toward Nudge and told her, "Nudge, sweetie, no hacking on to that cute boy's facebook account, okay? Angel, no mind controlling the teacher, and, Gazzy, do I even have to say? Ig, no bombs and don't forget to give that check for the broken table to chemistry teacher."

Rolling my eyes, I looked pointedly at Gazzy. He smiled innocently. Yeesh, is there no change to the schedule? I opened the door, and did the normal drill on the way to my locker. First, glare at the fellow at locker 99 for staring to long at me: check. Smile and wave back at my English teacher, whose class I took any value in and didn't fall asleep in: check. Lastly, stare at the clock above my locker to see how much longer of the agony we call school is in store: check. And, lastly, dis Miss. Sassy, who should be here any minute… three, two, one-.

"Hey, Maxy!" someone squeaked out, and I turned around, wearing my kick-butt glare. Look who it is! Miss. Sassy, the school's sl*t. With her low cut top, tight little skirt, and high heels, I immediately hated her. Just too make it all better, she has a horrible attitude. The first thing Miss. Sassy (and for all you strange people out there, her name is not really Miss. Sassy) did was glance at me, wrinkling her nose to what she was delicately, and comment lightly "did you take a shower this morning? I mean, I hate to tell you this, but your hair looks really oily." She then proceeds to smirk, and her little posse titters. I proceed to kick her heel, which is enough to break the heel of those death traps she calls shoes, and she tumbles to the ground. Yes, I would do more, but I'm already pretty sure the school installed cameras after my arrival. Turning away, I weaved my through the crowd to math to catch up on some much needed sleep. Somehow I make As, too!


	5. Chapter 4

"Are they awake yet?" I called out quietly to the footsteps approaching from behind. Yes, I should probably be freaking out, but I figure if the idiot comes from behind _without_ shooting me, it's either a good guy or someone even a squirrel wouldn't have to worry about.

"No," Rachel whispered, settling beside me on the ground, shifting on the sticks and stones under our blanket. Her red hair glinted with auburn streaks as the blaze of the fire flickered. Rachel stared down into the lit embers, concern filling her features. "I'd don't like the sister," she said quietly, shivering still in the warmth of the fire. "There's something about her, something unnatural. It's unnerving." She glanced towards the other side of the fire the lumps curled up on the ground. Sometimes the light would catch the boy's and girl's faces and you would see the bruises and cuts covering them.

I followed her gaze, unworried. Even if there was something up with the girl, she would be a valuable member to his little group. After reading the files Nudge had found long ago, he had found some interesting characters, including these young siblings. "What are you picking up from the boy?" I murmured.

"The usual," observed Rachel. "Pain, misery, loss, protective over his sister. Not that his sister needs it."

I raised an eyebrow at her answer, and she sighed in return. "What I mean is," she told me, "she has more power than she realizes. That, my friend, I can definitely tell you. How is the question." I opened my mouth to answer her remark, but she just raised a hand, motioning me silent. "I only see things I don't know, Fang. There's something none of us know, and that's what's got me on edge. Whatever it is, it's going to make a big bang in our small little group."

I shrugged silently, still staring at the figures. It had been easy to rescue these kids. They had already been put in a pile of cages, the children inside them about to be exterminated. Fang had wanted to rescue the experiments, but Rachel had told him they were going to die soon anyway. Still, it took all of his will to turn his back on the helpless creatures. In all, the whole plan went as smoothly as possible for an escape from the School. There were only a few scientists in the white halls, and no Erasers. That didn't bother him; recently, he'd learned each branch specialized in certain types of "production" and this certain School was for the "retirement" of unwanted experiments.

"So what next," Rachel asked curiously, turning her back to the brother and sister. "Is the plan still going to Arizona?"

"Yeah." I picked up a stick and poked the flaming logs. Sparks flew up in the air like tiny fireworks. "We just have to be careful. Max and the others are still there," I murmured. Even these days, I was still trying to stick to being a man of few words. "Jeb's still waiting to give the signal."

Rachel's eyes widened in surprise, and she gasped. "Seriously?" she questioned. "Does he have _any _idea how important this is? It could-." Her voice was starting to escalate.

My hand jerked over her mouth, and I tensed when the sister rolled over in her sleep. "I know," I whispered. "I'm already on it. If I have to, I'll tell Max myself. But for now, we still need time." Removing my hand from Rachel's mouth, she blurted something completely unexpected.

"I want to look for my mom."

I sighed, gazing down at the ground. I guess I should have expected soon enough. "Rachel…"I trailed off. "I'm not sure this is really the best situation to start searching."

She bit her lip, tracing figures in the dirt absentmindedly. The drawing started to take shape as people and places, and Rachel's movements became more urgent and jerky. Hissing under her breath, her foot shot out and scuffed the dirt before I could make out the figures. Suddenly her eyes flew open. I hadn't even noticed she was falling asleep. "They're waking up."

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_Max_

The rest of the morning went by without any problem. I got through boring lectures, tests, and I was ready to eat a horse. With sauce, of course.

BOOM! The table shuddered as I slammed down my tray of oh-so awful tasting cafeteria food. Tess and Kevin glared at me protest. Evie, on the other hand, had a complete spaz over spilled milk. Literally. "I was almost done!" Evie shrieked, picking up soggy paper with her scrawl written in tiny lines. She blotted it helplessly with a napkin for a few moments before she gave up and glowered at me. "15% of my grade," she growled at me, flopping the milky sheet of paper in my face. "15% of my grade!"

I quirked an eyebrow at the sopping mess. Milk was running over the edges of the table, and Kevin had rescued his lunch from the terrors of milk puddles. Tess sat there, feet from the mess, smirking. "Don't you have a copy on the computer?" I asked calmly. Evie stood there, staring at me like a deer in the headlights, before what I said finally connected. She slowly reached down to pick up a milk logged sandwich and raised it to her lips. Taking a bite, her face squished up and she spit the chewed up piece of turkey into a trash can; the other part of her lunch followed suit. "You owe me five bucks," she told me, sitting down in a huff. In response, I started chugging down my own soda.

So, now you've met my friends. First, there's Tess, who I met after accidentally catching her shirt on fire during Health Class. WHAT? I told the teacher I couldn't cook, but no, it was half my grade to grill some grilled cheese. How was I supposed to know you had to take off the plastic?

Next was Kevin. During some boring lecture about the export of rubber, I had managed to flick a pencil 10 feet at the teacher's head. Kevin, thinking this was some sort of game, threw another pencil at the teacher's nose. We spent most of detention playing 20 Questions.

Lastly, Evie, the psycho of the group. How I met her? She skipped up to my locker to tell me that she just got new shoes. Why? Don't ask. I'm sure it will turn out to be some long debate about the meaning of life. But she's a great friend, once you get over the oddness. Just to clear it up, none of any of the flocks' friends know about our wings, or powers. We agreed with all the publicity we're already getting we should keep low profiles. So, now I'm playing the part of a regular girl who just moved here from New York, partly because the group's been there a number of times.

"Did you finish the homework in English?" Tess asked, chewing a shiny red apple thoughtfully, her dark eyes trained on me. Her long dark chestnut colored hair was swept up in a messy bun.

I smiled. "I finished that in class." Kevin stared in disbelief at me, and Tess just stared expressionlessly at me.

"Of course you did," Tess sighed. She rolled her eyes, taking another bite of the apple.

I was about to retort when Evie shot up, staring wide eyed at the clock. "OMG! I have to leave!" she screeched, drawing half of the cafeterias' attention on her. Not noticing the stares, she threw all her stuff in a bag, and tossed her bag over her shoulder. "See you guys later," she called, jogging toward the doors. "I have to go feed Mario!"

"Who's Mario?" I asked Kevin. He shrugged, already over the slight drama.

"Don't ask me."

"Fine." And with that, I started eating my scrumptious mystery meat.


	6. Chapter 5

"So, what you in for?" I asked the boy in the cage next to me. His eyes widened in fear, and he shied as far away as possible. Scales covered his skin in patches, and his neon yellow eyes had slits for pupils. I sighed. "It was just an attempt at conversation. I'm not going to hurt you," I said kindly. Over the years, you picked up pretty quickly that some experiments here weren't good with socializing. Being one of the few tests on humans able to communicate in this Itex, life got pretty boring.

The boy still looked out the bars in alarm. My spirit drooped slightly at the terror in his face. He was at the maximum eight years old. Boys his age should be playing ball in the park, not living a life of horror and pain in what I had dubbed "The Lab." No matter how many times I saw these helpless kids, I still felt my heart wrench in pity. At least I wasn't in _as much _pain as some. For some, the mutations they endured would always be aching.

The door of the small room swung, and a scientist accompanied by back up Erasers strolled in. The scientist didn't even hesitate as he unlatched the dog cage and had the Erasers wrench the young boy out of the cage. Instead of screams, hisses and snarls erupted from the boy. His feet were kicking in every which way, and his nail lengthened into claws. The Erasers held down the boy's arm as the scientist forced a needle through the tough hide that was his skin and pushed down the plunger. It didn't take long before the sedative kicked in and the boy slumped to the ground. One Eraser unceremoniously threw the boy over his shoulder, and the trio started heading toward the door, just as calm as before.

My instincts jumped in right before they left, which was too bad. If I had stayed quiet, only one would have had to suffer. Instead, I started banging on the cage walls. "Take me instead!" I screamed. We all knew that the boy was too weak to take the tests they issued here. He wouldn't come back here alive. "I'll cooperate," I insisted, my head bobbing like a bobble head. That was always my weak point. I knew I was stronger than most of the children at The Lab. Most likely, I would come back alive to my comfy cage with just bruises, cuts, and maybe a broken bone or two. So, I sacrificed myself to the test, especially in the younger kids place.

"Tell you what," the scientist said with a slight accent. Scottish, maybe? But it wasn't heavy enough that I couldn't understand his spiteful words. "I'll send a few of my friends to come pick you up, if you're so excited for our little games. Ok?" he told me cheerfully, leaving the room. The last thing I ever saw of the boy was his face, sleeping peacefully at the moment. The door slammed closed behind them.

I felt like screaming to the world. But, now the only thing to do was prepare myself both physically and mentally for the tests. Sighing, I lay down on the metal floor of the cage. My eyes drifted shut as I fell into a much needed sleep. Unknown to me, just hours away was a savior, waiting for a signal. A signal that would change my life, and disrupt the balance that all humanity relied on. Oh, goody.

WwWwWwWwWwWw

Soft light flickered through the leaves as I searched the trees for Val. The flight to Phoenix would take at least three hours, and we were already cutting it close. I had promised Fang I would give Jeb a chance with Max, but time was going to cut short. Yes, Fang was the leader, but some rules were made to be broken.

"Val!" I called out, gazing through the gaps in foliage. "Look, I need your help. Can you please come out?" Still, the only noise I heard was the rustling of leaves. I sighed, and leaned against the hard bark of an oak tree. Exhaustion was a familiar feeling, being on the run, but that made it no more pleasant. It probably not the best idea to stay up all night waiting for Valencia and Jace to wake up. Fang told me I could sleep, but I was stubborn, and I had to pay the price for that now.

I closed my eyes, slowly sliding down to the base of the tall oak. My body and mind relaxed, and I tentatively opened my mind to the pictures. When I had first acquired my power, it had been unbearable. With no control whatsoever over my visions, images would barrack me every hour. Experience was the only thing that could help me control my power.

Colors and sounds eased their way into my mind. Setting aside most of them, I focused on Val. Gradually, blurs of colors solidified and I could see Val sitting on a high branch overlooking the canyon nearby where we camped. Now that I had the information I needed, I just closed my mind as I would close a door. Back to reality, I opened my eyes unhurriedly.

I stood up and started tromping to the tree I had landed on. I grasped the limbs and shimmied up to the highest branch. It was too hard landing or flying off through the tons of branches. Once I got there, I pulled myself up and unfolded my wings. Shaking them slightly to loosen the muscles, I spread them wide and jumped.

Fly is too hard to describe for you to fully understand what it's like. Imagine running faster than humanly possible with no walls to cross or rules to follow. Just you and the birds. And, of course, the occasional plane. Banking east, I felt the wind shift and I adjusted my feathers to go with it. When I saw a figure sitting in a tree, I angled down and alighted on the branch.

Val didn't even look up. Her looks were startlingly different to her brother and her personality. Just in the few hours I had had to learn about them, I found out that Jace did the talking. With his chestnut hair and dark brown eyes, he looked rather plain, but his outgoing personality made him stand out. Val, on the other hand, talk as less as she could; if you didn't know her, though, you'd think she was some peppy cheerleader. Her hair strawberry blond hair and icy blue eyes contrasted completely with her persona.

"Hey, Val," I chirped, jumping down next to her. "I know we barely know each other, but I need your help. I'm guessing you've heard of Maximum Ride, right?" I saw a flicker of recognition in her eyes, and she nodded her head faintly. I smiled and went on. "I thought so. She's pretty popular among the lunatics that call themselves scientists. Well, I need to tell her something and I've picked up that you can help me with that."

Val rose up and gazed at me. "Yeah, I think I can help you with that." Smirking, she climbed up and shook out large tan wings. I held back my surprise; the files hadn't said anything about wings. Apparently I wasn't great at hiding my surprise. She grinned at my expression. "Pretty awesome, huh?" she said happily. "Jace doesn't have a pair, though. Just little ole me."

I shrugged; it wasn't my place to ask. "Where to?" I asked, back to business.

Val observed the canyon, and her eyes focused on a small town across the long drop of Earth. "First, we need to find a road with lots of people. I'll help you from there."


	7. Chapter 6

**Sorry I haven't updated lately. It's been a crazy week. Anyway, this is definitely not one of my best chapters, but I wanted to update as soon as I could. The next chapter will be much better, I promise. Note: Below is a little weird side story I typed up when I was **_**extremely **_**bored. It has no plot whatsoever. I would've made it a new story, but I decided against it for a variety of reasons.**

**WwWwWwWwWwWw**

**The day the world blew up. Such a wonderful day, wasn't it?**

**I'm guessing you're confused, right? Me, myself, and my name, Max, will explain the extordinary day the world blew up.**

**So, I was minding my own business. Making out with Fang, being a human Barbie to Nudge, and telling Angel that it was impolite to control people, when Iggy set off the bomb, thus the saying about the world blowing up. Not that different. Nope, it was pretty ordinary day. So why am I telling you about it?**

**It was also the day my world got turned vertically. Yes, vertically, and upside down, and horizontally.**

**The day Dylan disappeared! Yes, he is gone. FOREVER! And, this, my friends, is the end of my banter. King Squirrel says hi. He and his elf minions shall rule!**

**WwWwWwWwWwWw**

"Wait up!" a voice called from behind me, and I stopped for a moment so Tess could catch up me. Screeching to a hult, she stopped for a second to catch her breath before she followed beside me. "So, how's life?" she asked, her dark eyes fixed ahead on the sidewalk.

I shrugged. "Usual. Loads of homework for Algebra, short story for English." I replied, sighing. I never could understand why Nudge wanted to go to school so much. I mean, all you do is work and socialize. Both could be done outside of school, without all the pressure from teachers. "You?"

Tess glanced over at me, expression blank. "Same. Except for some weird homework in Family Consumer Science. Why on earth would we have to-?"

My phone, a gift from my mom, buzzed in my pocket and Lady Gaga played. I groaned. Why, Ella, why? Tess raised an eyebrow and I just glared back at her. Flipping open the phone, I glanced at the caller ID. Private call. Weird. I signaled to Tess to stop, and she leaned against a tree while I pressed talk and raised the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Thank God I got a hold of you," a voice gasped out heavily. The person on the end, breathing deeply. "Val, you could have been a little bit more careful," the voice called out again. Val?

"Who is this?" I demanded, getting a little nervous. Seriously, growing up how I did, private calls didn't exactly mean I was getting invited to a birthday party. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tess give me a confused look, but I just waved a hand in her direction.

"Oh, sorry," the girl, I'm just assuming it's a girl by the tone, apologized. "I'm Rachel. A friend of Fang?"

I froze up. The one thing that had been banned for the last four months had been said. My finger went to the hang up button and I was about to press it when I paused, thinking hard. If this was a friend of his, I could get info on what he's up to. In the long run, that could help us, and by us I mean the flock, get help with the whole saving the world thing. My finger inched away from the button, and I glowered into the receiver. "What do you want?" I asked icily, getting straight to the point.

The girl-Rachel?-had calmed down. "I get you probably wish I didn't call," she told me straight, sighing at my tone.

"You've got that right," I told her. "Again, what do you want?"

"I've got a message for you. Apparently, you'll know what it means. Does a place called The Galaxy Emporium mean anything to you," Rachel asked.

I couldn't help but chuckle. The Galaxy Emporium? Yeah, I suppose you could say it meant something to me. Actually, it's just around the corner from where I'm standing now. The first time the flock and I had stayed with my mom, Gazzy had found the place, insisting that it was the coolest thing ever. The store's filled with cheesy toys, prank items, and a bunch of other assortment of things. For weeks, I had to deal with going there every day. "Yeah, sure, why?" I said carefully.

"That's all I have," Rachel told me. "That's the sign." A click on the other hand, the dial tone, and a call disconnected. I stared down at the phone, totally perplexed.

"Max, are you all right?" a voice asked. I turned around to face Tess, my face a white as chalk.

"I've got to go," I said blankly. Turning on my heels, I raced toward the house.


	8. Chapter 7

** This is definitely not my best work, but I had to update!**

My mind whirled as I jumped over fences and ran through yards to our house. I could hear hisses of pain as Tess tried to keep up, only to get caught by her jacket on a wire fence. Not pausing, I rocketed towards the back door; digging my hand into my bag for the keys, I shoved the cold piece of metal into the lock and turned it hastily. The tumblers clicked and I threw the door open.

"Fa-Iggy!" I yelled out, almost calling for Fang. But he wasn't any help anymore. I slammed the door closed, and stomped into the house in search for the flock. After checking out the family room, I found everyone in the kitchen. Ella glanced up at me, a half eaten cookie in her hand. "Want one?" she offered, the cookie raised high in the air. I reached toward it, but the thought of food made me nauseas. I grimaced, lowering my hand. Yes, the Maximum Ride just resisted the gooey force of chocolate chip cookies. Call the presses.

I could literally hear the gasps. A look of concern crossed Nudge's face. "Are you all right?" she asked kindly, her usual chattiness put off for a moment.

I smiled tightly. "I'm fine, sweetie. Thanks for asking." Short, sure, but I needed to talk to Iggy.

That was enough for Nudge, though. Opening her mouth wide to start a speech, she started talking at top speed. "That's good! I mean, I was worried because you never not take a cookie. Who couldn't eat Mom's cookies, anyway? They're so gooey, and sweet, and amazing! Her tacos are great, too, with all the yummy melted cheese and lettuce. Have you had the tacos at school? I swear it moved on my plate! And then I screamed and threw my plate and it landed on Allie's head. And then she started-."

"Nudge," I flatly interrupted. "I'd love to hear about your day, but I need to talk to Iggy for a minute. Can you guys go watch TV of something until I call you back in?"

Nudge's face fell, but she obediently left the room. Gazzy, Angel, Ella, and Total followed. I sat down on one of the stools, and my face fell into my hands. "We have a problem, Ig," I stated quietly, mixed emotions circling me like vultures. Why did this happen to me?

Iggy sat across from me while munching on a cookie. "What's up, Max? Not another evil principal, right?"

I rolled my eyes and raised my head. "No worse. Some girl named Rachel," I gulped out.

He stared at me, slowly processing what I just said. "A girl named Rachel," he repeated. "A girl named Rachel…" After a moment of repeating Rachel a few times, an evil grin spread across his face. "Max, this isn't about boy problems, is it? We all know that-." I interrupted kindly by smacking him upside the head.

"Rachel," I enunciated slowly to him, smirking at his expression, "is apparently a new recruit of Fangs'." Iggy's eyebrows shot up, but he seemed unsuprised. "How can you not be freaking out?" I asked in response to the silence.

Iggy sighed. "Max," he said carefully, "what did you really expect? It's not like he left because of any of us."

"What do you mean?"

"Max," he said quietly, looking slightly queasy. What was his problem? "Look, I get you and Fang were… together and all, but he left. Why, none of us are sure about. But whatever he needed done, he would need help. I'm not all that surprised about this girl."

I couldn't help but stare at Iggy in amazement. How could this deep Iggy be the sexist pig I had grown up with? Where were the taunts? The jokes? The sound of a bomb in the distant? "Ig, are you feeling all right?"

Iggy pouted like the immature teenager he is. "Am I not allowed to play serious once and a while?" he simpered. I just rolled my eyes.

"What do you think we should now?"

Iggy shrugged. "You're the leader."

"So?" I shot back, my eyes narrowing.

"I think I can help you."


	9. Chapter 8

** Hi! So, I know I haven't updated in a hilariously long time. It's been really busy for me lately, but I finally got some time to write. Hope you enjoy!**

"Hurry, Val!" I yelled, sprinting across the town square of the nearest village. A quick glance to the right showed Val easily keeping up with my face pace, her long hair blowing behind her at the inhuman speed of our run. Though the predicament of our situation could be considered serious, her face glowed with childish glee, which was refreshing; she was, after all, only twelve. When she beamed at me I couldn't help but grin right back.

Our pursuer, a middle aged woman with a large handbag, had given up about 30 seconds into the chase, but we had decided it was safer to get as far away as possible before stopping to rest. Honestly, I don't get what was getting the woman all worked up. Sure, Val used one of her powers to pick-pocket her of an expensive Blackberry phone, but by the bored looks of her kids and husband, we were doing everyone a favor. Too bad everyone didn't think that way; we probably had ten minutes before a police cruiser would round the corner to arrest us.

"This is good," I gasped, sliding to a halt at a bus stop at the other side of town. "We better make this quick." Val gave me a quick nod of the head and handed over a shining phone. I grabbed it and unlocked the keyboard fast. Pressing the numbers I had memorized from Fang's phone directory, I put the phone to my ear and listened to the rings.

"Hello?" a feminine voice answered laughter evident in the tone. At first I thought I had the wrong number but a check at the screen showed this _was_ the right number.

"Thank God I got a hold of you," I breathed heavily, still out of breath from the unexpected run. ""Val, you could have been a little bit more careful," I chastised, frowning at Val. She gave a half hearted shrug of guilt.

"Who are you?" Max said, the tone suddenly suspicious and careful, confirming my theory that this voice did belong to Max, the stubborn girl I had heard so much about.

"Sorry," I replied apologetically. "I'm Rachel. A friend of Fang's?" There was a long pause from the line and light static filled up the silence. Finally, a cold voice asked, "what do you want?"

Bold, straight, and to the point. I could deal with that. "I get you probably wish I didn't call," I started, sighing.

"You've got that right," the voice said tenaciously. "Again, what do you want?"

"I've got a message for you. Apparently, you'll know what it means. Does a place called The Galaxy Emporium mean anything to you?" I asked warily, hoping not to sound like a complete nutjob. Fang hadn't told me much about the plan, probably because he was afraid I would do exactly what I was doing now, but he had told me that there was supposed to be some message waiting for his old flock at this store.

To my dismay, Max chuckled at the mention of whatever this place is. "Yeah, sure. Why?"

This was starting to tread too closely to the plan. There was a big difference between breaking a small rule and telling the teen all about her destiny. "That's all I have," I said, deciding to take a safer path. Val and I were already going to be in big trouble. "That's the sign." And with that, I hung up, leaving Max to figure out the rest.

"So how'd it go?" Val questioned, eyebrows raised. I just shrugged. "As well as it could go."

There was a short pause. "I'm guessing you're not going to tell me what just happened."

I gave a smile. "Yeah, sorry. You'll find out soon enough, trust me. At this rate, Fang's probably going to confess the whole thing when we get back. Just keep your fingers crossed." I glanced down at the phone in my hand. "We should return this. Think you can sneak in?"

Val nodded, grabbing the phone from the tips of my fingers. "I'll be back in a few," she called out, running back into the busy city.

When I woke up, I found myself lying in a really awkward position: I was on my right staring straight out through the bars of my cage to a group of people studying me from a safe distant. My right arm was stretched out behind me, numb from being laid on so long. My legs, stretched out as far as they could were bandaged and sadly didn't have anything restricting the blood flow; for all mutants, I knew that anesthetic wore off quickly. After all, scientists were careful not to give us a dosage big enough to kill us, just give a brief session of no pain. In the end, they honestly didn't try to kill us, even with testing; they didn't want to lose their precious subjects too soon. That didn't mean they tried _not _to hurt us, though.

I slowly untangled myself slowly, wincing form the pain in both my legs and arm as the blood started flowing. The people all froze, staring at me with wide eyes; when I finally got up I glared at them and they cowered. Weaklings.

"This is one of our more successful subjects," said a scientist, giving me an almost gentle look. Yeah, innocent babies get heartless experiments and_ I_ get the kindness. Twisted world this sure is.

"What's her name?" one man said, gazing at the doctor, but keeping in his peripheral vision like I was going to bust out of the steel cage anytime. One power I did not have: inhuman strength. Squirrels are about the size of a stuffed animal; apparently it took all they had for the scientists to keep me at a human size and strength. My body tried to make it as light as it could be, which meant muscles shrank, but they reversed the process. It gave me an almost normal appearance, besides the awesome tail I acquired after they started the testing.

"I can talk, you know," I growled, and everyone besides the scientist gasped. "For your information, it's not Subject 17468 or whatever you crazy people call me. It's Gina." When the man stilled stared at me with awe, I rolled my eyes. "Look, just between you and me, I don't have the brain the size of peanut. It's the size of an orange," I fake whispered, glancing at the rest of the group like I was afraid they would hear.

The guy actually cracked a grin. "So what's special about you, hon?" he asked me friendly, as if I wasn't sitting in a dog cage.

"_Gina_," I hissed, glaring at him. "And I thought that would be obvious," I replied, flicking my tail around a bit. The man looked like he was going to swat me like a fly before the doctor stepped in.

"I doesn't matter what her name is," he called out, addressing the crowd gathered. "All you need to know is that the White House is starting to come to an understanding of what we're actually doing. You're job is to stop that from happening. You will keep experiments like Subject 18467 here from escaping and if they do, hunt down and exterminate the offending target. Do you understand?" The crowd murmured a reply of acceptance. "Now," he started again, "if you'll move on to the next room my colleague, Dr. Schwit, will show you the ropes on how to outwit a mutant."

Everyone started to exit out a door to the left, but the man who had spoken to me was stopped by the doctor. "We need to speak to you about tracking down our target, Maximum Ride. Shall we go to a more private room?" he asked, eyeballing my presense in the room.

"No, I believe this is just fine," he said highly, and gave me a charming smile. "I don't think Gina will say anything. Right, Gina?" I glowered, spitting in his direction which fell only a few inches short. He ignored the gesture."

"As you know, we have questioned Jeb, the only one known to be closest to her, besides her own flock. He hasn't relinguished any information about her whereabouts, though we have kept looking into it. As far as we know, Subject 2, also known as 'Fang', has left the flock for a mission of his own. Obviously, we also have no idea where he is or else we would have him in custody at this moment.

"Further addressing Subject 2, we have many sightings of what was believed to be a large black bird when our other locations have been infiltrated. We do not know if this is him, but it's something to look into. Whenever a place is infiltrated, only files or mutants are found missing. You do understand, however, that I only give you this information to help the capture of Maximum. Until further directions are given, you are only to help with this mission, Mr. Lenning." the doctor finished swiftly.

"Of course," Mr. Lenning said smoothly, his eyes lowered as he stood in the presense of a man in higher rank then him. "I'll look into the questioning of Mr. Batchelder." But as he said this, I must have been the only one who noticed the glint of disrespect in his eyes, the only sign that he wasn't as obedient as thought to be.

"That is all," the doctor said, leading Mr. Lenning through the door to the right. "I'll be back for you," he snapped at me. Still mad about the cheek, huh?

"Pleasure meeting you, Miss. Gina," Mr. Lenning said politely, giving me a quick grin before leaving the room. I was left in the silence of the bleach white room, trying to follow these further developments in my mind.

** And there you have it! Chapter Nine! I finally finished it. For some reason I keep picturing Val as Rue from The Hunger Games, which is totally opposite to her real looks. Please review!**


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